Main Navigation

International Student Experience

25 Nov 2013

Australian universities are committed to delivering a high quality
academic experience to all students within a stimulating and nurturing
environment in the knowledge that this will lead to better outcomes for
their graduates and communities.

Universities Australia has worked consistently over the years to
advocate for policies that protect the safety and
well-being of international and domestic students. Universities Australia's Good Practice Guidelines for Student Safety (2011) highlights the role universities play in assisting to meet the needs of the international student community.

In June 2009 Universities Australia published a position paper, Enhancing the student experience and student safety,
documenting good practice in this area across the university sector,
government agencies and internationally. Concurrent to this was the
development of a ten point action plan
as a response to issues within the Australian community. The plan was
closely considered at, and helped inform, a meeting of all Commonwealth,
State and Territory Education Ministers held in Hobart on 12 June 2009.

Consistent
with the ten point action plan, Universities Australia worked in
partnership with The Academy of the Social Sciences and the Australian
Human Rights Commission to facilitate a
workshop on Racism and the Student Experience on 31 March 2010. The workshop brought together a range of
individuals and parties to assess available data from social science
research, to assist with the prevention of racially motivated crimes
against international students and improve international student safety.
An occasional paper was
compiled based on discussion at the workshop, to assist with public
debate around these issues. Universities Australia does not specifically
endorse any of the views expressed in this paper.

Universities Australia has also been a longstanding and strong advocate of
equity on student travel concessions. We believe that government travel
concessions for full-time students should be extended to international
undergraduates and to both domestic and international postgraduate
full-time students on a nationally consistent basis. Universities Australia has a policy paper pertaining to the issue of transport concessions for international students.

For more information about the work that Universities Australia is doing
with the sector to promote the delivery of a high quality student
experience for both domestic and international students, please see the Quality and Participation section of our website.

Universities Australia supports the Council of International Students
(CISA) as the peak representative body of the international student
sector. More information about CISA can be found here.

Latest Activity

Universities Australia is the peak body representing Australia’s 39 comprehensive universities. It promotes a strong, vibrant and internationally competitive university system to advance Australia’s social and economic prosperity.